Means for stoking furnaces.



No. 728,952. PA'TENTED'MAY 26, 1903.

0.- B. MILLER & 0. n. COTTON. MEANS FOR STOKING FURNACES.

APPQIUATION FILED MAY 19, 1902.

X0 MODEL.

IIlVIIIlI/IIIIIII,

No. 728,952. I atented May 26, 1903.

' UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. MILLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND ORVILLE D. COTTON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN; SAID MILLER ASSIGNOR TO SAID COTTON.

NlEANS FOR STOKING FURNACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 28,952, dated May 26, 1903.

Application filed May 19, 1902. Serial No. 107,909. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: outside of the furnace, showing the Stoker-op- Be it known that we, CHARLES B. MILLER, crating bar and connected mechanism. Fig. residing at Chicago,in the county of Cook and is a plan section taken on the line 5 5, Fig. State of Illinois, and ORVILLE D. COTTON, re- 4; and Fig. (i is a vertical section on the line siding at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and 6 6, Fig. 4.

State of Michigan, citizens of the United 1 is a part of a fuel-hopper, which may be States, have invented certain new and useful of the usual or any suitable construction and Improvements in Means for Stoking Furwhich in furnaces of this character is usually naces, of which the following is a full, clear, arranged at one side of the grate-bars,which and exact specification. are indicated in Fig. 1 by the dotted line 2 Our invention relates to that class of furand which lead downwardly from a shelf 4, nace-stokers in which the fuel is fed into the over which the hopper 1 is arranged, and upon furnace by a number of pushers or plungers which shelf slide the similarly-constructed which move back and forth adjacent to the stoker plungers or pushers 5 6, the latter bemouth of a fuel-hopper, and therebypush the 7 ing interchangeable and interposed between fuel onto the grate. the shelf and the mouth of the hopper, so One of the objects of our invention is to prothat as they move toward the inner edge of vide improved means for causing the pushers the shelf the fuel resting thereon will be to feed more or less profusely at one point pushed off onto the grate-bars. than at another, so as to compensate for the Any desired number of the plungers or difiference in degree of burning power at difpushers 5 6 may be employed. For the purferent points in the furnace, and thereby poses of this application for patent two are maintain a uniform fire throughout the grateshown, and each is preferably in form of an surface. In furnaces of this-character the inverted box having the under side of its top stoker is operated by an outsidereciprocating portion provided with a pair of depending bar, which is run continually for other purlugs 7, formed at each end thereof, and the poses as well, it being detached from the shelf 4 is provided with a slot 8, upwardly stoker mechanism when it is not desired to through which project rocker-arms 9 10, two operate the latter.- of these arms being preferably employed for x A further object of our invention is to pro each of the pushers or plungers and one en videimproved means wherebythis disconneogaging between the lugs 7 of each pair, as tion may be readily effected without endanshown in Fig. 3, so that as the arms oscillate gering any parts by the continual motion of the pushers or plungers will be moved back the operating-bar. and forth under the mouth of the hopper 1 a \Vith these ends in view our invention condistance proportioned to the lengths of the sists in certain features of novelty in the conarms. The arms are secured to a rock-shaft struction, combination, and arrangement of 11, which is common to all of them; but, as parts by which the said objects and certain shown in Fig. 3, the arms which engage with other objects hereinafter appearing are atthe depending lugs of one of the pushers or 0 tained, all as fully described with reference plungers 5 6 are shorter than the others, so to the accompanying drawings and more parthat, although secured to the same shaft, the ticularly pointed out in the claims. shorter arms will produce less movement of In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a detail the pusher 6 than is produced by the longer transverse sectional View on the line 1 1, Fig. arms on the pusher 5, andconsequently one 5 3, of one of the stoker pushers or plungers, pusher will feed more fuel than the other one. its operating mechanism, and a part of the The upper ends of the arms 9 10 may be prohopper. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective vided with antifriction-rollers 1'2, capable of view of one end of one of the pushers or plunbeing inserted between the lugs 7. This congers upside down, one end being cut off. Fig. struction afiords an inexpensive and at the 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewon the line same timehighly efficient and durable means 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the for giving the pushers different degrees of throw or movement, and it also provides for making all of the pushers of uniform construction, rendering it immaterial whether they are to be used for the long stroke or the short stroke,- this being entirely determined by the length of the arms 9 10.

The outer end of the shaft 11 is provided with a crank-arm 13, whose lower end carries awrist14, which engagesin a notch 15, formed in a lug 16, attached to a bar 17, which is the aforesaid reciprocating bar employed in furnaces of this character for imparting motion to the stoker mechanism and at the same time operating other parts, such as the clinkerbar of the grate, &c. (Not necessary to illus trate.) This lug 16 is supported on the top of the bar 1'7 and secured in place by hinges 18 in'such a manner that when desired the lug 16 may be turned downwardly and outwardly in. the manner shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, so as to escape the wrist 14 and allow the stoker mechanism to remain at rest. When it is desired to continue the operation of the stoker mechanism, the lug 16 is again turned upwardly in the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5; but in order that its end may not strike the wrist 14 when thus turned upwardly through carelessess, and thereby injure some of the parts, the inner face of the lug 16 at each end or on both sides of the notch 15 is beveled or attenuated toward the outer ends, as shown at 19, so that the bevel will strike the wrist and again throw the lug outwardly and downwardly,thereby avoiding any clash and breakage. The outer side of the lug 16 is provided with a stop or support 20, which comes against the face of the bar 17 and holds the lug in a horizontal position.

If desired, the face of crank-arm 13 may be provided with a loop or socket 21 for the insertion of ahand operating-lever, (not shown,) usually employed when it is desired to work the stoker by hand.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A furnace comprising a fuel-hopper, a shelf having slots and located beneath the fuel -hopper, a plurality of similarly constructed interchangeable plungers loosely mounted on the shelf over the slots of the lattor, each having depending paired lugs and a rock-shaft mounted beneath the shelf and having upwardly-extending arms projecting through the slots and working between the depending paired lugs for reciprocating the plungers.

2. A furnace comprising a fuel-hopper, a shelf having slots and located beneath the fuelhopper, a plurality of similarlyconstructed interchangeable plungers loosely mounted on the shelf over the slots of the latter, each having depending paired lugs and a rock-shaft mounted beneath the shelf and having upwardly-extending arms of different lengths projecting through the slots and working between the depending paired lugs for reciprocating the plungers different distances.

3. A furnace comprising a fuel-hopper, a shelf having slots a plurality of plungers each having depending paired lugs located above the slots in the shelf, a rock-shaft, mounted beneath the shelf and having upwardly-extending arms projecting through the slots and between the depending paired lugs for reciprocating the plungers, a pendent crank-arm having a wrist and fixed to the rock-shaft, and a reciprocating bar having a surmounting lug formed with a notch receiving the wrist.

4. A furnace comprising a stoking device having a shaft provided with a crank-arm carrying a Wrist, and a reciprocating bar having a hinged lug formed with a notch receiving the wrist.

5. A furnace comprising a stoking device havinga shaft provided with a crank-arm carrying a wrist and a reciprocating bar having a hinged lug formed with a notch receiving the wrist and bevels, on the inner side of the lug, extending in opposite directions.

6. A furnace comprising a stoking device having a shaft provided with a crank-arm carrying a wrist, and a reciprocating bar having a hinged lug formed with a notch receiving the wrist and a stop to limit the movement of the lug.

CHARLES B. MILLER. ORVILLE D. COTTON.

\Vituesses:

F. A. HOPKINS, W. D. (Boss. 

